The ePremier League is back! This year’s EA SPORTS FC Pro season sees the sixth edition of the competition taking place, with all clubs from the English top flight involved.
Many big FC Pro names are set to take part this year, including the inaugural ePL champion Tekkz, but he won’t be representing Liverpool this time after signing for Manchester City last year.
Another former champion, Shellzz, also returns in different colours after previously winning the title with the Cityzens, and he will be playing in the red and blue of Crystal Palace this time around.
Four eChampions League seats are available for the two clubs that reach the final of the competition, while the winners will also book their place in the FC Pro World Championship.
As all 20 Premier League clubs look to win the trophy and a share of the £100,000 prize pool, here’s everything you need to know about the 2024 ePremier League.
Who is taking part?
Each ePremier League club selects two players to represent them on both consoles – PlayStation and Xbox.
Below is a list of all the teams taking part in this season’s ePremier League on FC24.
Arsenal
Aston Villa
AFC Bournemouth
Brentford
Brighton & Hove Albion
Burnley
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Liverpool
Luton Town
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Sheffield United
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
How does it work?
The ePremier League is open to all UK residents aged 16 and over. No matter what your previous experience was on the FC Pro competitive circuit, the opportunity to get involved began with the Online Qualifiers.
Online Qualifiers
In November 2023, three online qualifiers were held over three two-day periods:
Online qualifier #1 - November 2 and 3
Online qualifier #2 - November 7 and 8
Online qualifier #3 - November 16 and 17
The best players from the online qualifiers moved through to the Online Qualifier Playoff that took place on November 21 and 22, and the successful players from that stage earned invites to the official Club Playoffs – which were held by each individual Premier League side.
Club Playoffs
The Club Playoffs stage is the final phase of qualification to the ePremier League.
Held across the month of December, Premier League sides put the best players from their online qualifiers against each other on both consoles, with the final players remaining from PlayStation and Xbox handed their official club shirts – and confirmed as their two competitors for the ePremier League.
Players for each club will then work together with hopes of winning the title, and that starts with the Group Stages.
ePL Finals - Group Stages
The Group Stages is when the ePremier League Finals officially kick off.
In a live broadcasted event from Elstree Studios in London, the event took place across January 20 and 21, with all 20 teams looking to secure a place in the ePL Quarter-finals.
Four groups were made up of five teams each, who played against each other in a double round-robin format – one match on PlayStation and one match on Xbox.
The same points are awarded as in real-world football (three for a win, one each for a draw, and zero points for a loss). After each team had played each other twice (eight games in total), the four teams at the top of their respective groups earned direct qualification to Day Two of the Grand Final, which takes place on March 23 - March 24.
The other 16 teams have a second chance to earn their place in the final eight on Sunday 24 March, but they first must return on March 23 and compete in a single elimination bracket.
ePL Finals - Knockout Stages
After a two-month hiatus, 16 teams will return to begin the Knockout Stages bracket on Finals weekend. The bracket is played in a single elimination format, which means just one defeat will see a club leave the ePremier League.
Teams are seeded based on their previous positions in the group, with a higher group position leading to an easier round-1 matchup - but anything can happen!
Two wins are required to secure a place on Day Two – which will see four teams from the bracket join the four group winners, who are already waiting in the quarter-finals.
One game is played on each console (PlayStation and Xbox), with both contributing to the overall aggregate score to secure victory. From the quarter-finals stage, all teams are three wins away from securing the ePremier League title and the biggest share of the £100,000 prize pool.
Making it to the final of the ePremier League will ensure eChampions League (eCL) qualification for the four players from both teams, while the two winners will also enjoy the added bonus of earning a spot at the FC Pro World Championships.
Below listed shows how the £100,000 prize pool is divided, with all amounts split between the two team representatives.
Winners (1st) - £30,000 (+ qualification to eCL and FC Pro World Championships)
Runners-up (2nd) - £15,000 (+ qualification to eCL)
Semi-finalists (3rd and 4th) - £7,500
Quarter-finalists (5th - 8th - £5,000
Round of 16 (9th - 16) - £2,500
Leeds United are the current ePremier League champions after Ollelito and Stokes secured the title last year, but after the Yorkshire-based club were relegated to the Championship, we will see a different ePremier League winner crowned this spring.
